


Foreigner Duo Miscast as Fathers

by Imtoolazytodoanything



Category: Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Genre: (only in ch 6 and for vampire food reasons), Comedy, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Family Feels, M/M, Multi, Self-Harm, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, they're both so done with them, very minor syaosaku
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:20:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27886687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imtoolazytodoanything/pseuds/Imtoolazytodoanything
Summary: Or 5 Times They Had to Pretend to Be a Couple with Kids and 1 Time They Had to Face They Weren’t Pretending AnymoreTwo weird adults travelling with two children ought to raise some questions and sometimes there's only one unquestionable answer. The group sometimes is forced to improvise and deal with whatever comes out of it.
Relationships: Fay D. Fluorite/Kurogane
Comments: 14
Kudos: 74





	1. Cat Eye Café is the best family business in town (somebody tell the owners)

**Author's Note:**

> Have you seen those posts that say shit like “I tried to make this gen but it ended up shippy/smutty”? Well I’m the opposite, everything I write ends up primarily gen even though I’m trying to make it shippy. 
> 
> I have only a vague idea what the timeline for this is but in my defense, that sounds like a direct quote from CLAMP themselves about TRC tbh
> 
> Also I think I'm funny. I apologize in advance.

Kurogane should have seen this coming from the moment the stupid mage wrote those stupid words. He took a breath, trying to remind himself that taking out his sword right now was not as good an idea as his rage was making it out to be. He regretted being coerced into helping with the Café in the mornings.

He spared a glance towards the culprit of their current predicament, who had the gall to look shocked by this turn of events. His ever-present mask had even cracked a bit, with his mouth hanging open in an interrupted smile. The princess, who had been busy cleaning some nearby tables, had also stopped like a deer in the highlights, obviously listening in to how this would develop.

“Big puppy-san?” The customer said, trying to catch his attention again and inadvertently throwing salt to the wound. She was smiling warmly at him, seemingly unaware of the verbal bomb she had just dropped in the café.

“Sorry, I was distracted,” He explained in what he hoped was a tone resembling politeness “What did you just say?

That last part came out more threatening than he had intended, but hey, maybe the lady would catch the hint.

“I said that you have lovely children, mister.” Alright. Forget about that. It seemed that the lady was _incapable_ of reading a room. “Have you two been together for long?”

Kurogane breathed again, just as the mage got himself out of his shock. From the corner of his eye, he saw the princess quietly leaving the room. _Smart girl_.

Sadly, before he could say anything else to the woman, the mage snapped out of it and made things worse.

“Oh no, the children are his. I’m just in for the ride!” He told the woman, winking.

Son of a _bitch_.

“Really? Oh dear, it must be hard to raise two teenagers on your own.” The lady told him and _wow_ , _she actually bought that story._ How in the hell.

First of all, he isn’t even old enough to be the kids’ dad, not even close. Second, he was pretty sure he saw this old lady earlier today. She was here to witness the sad but mostly embarrassing ordeal of the kid helping the princess bake. How can anybody see the kid’s luminescent and constant full-face blush around the princess and decide “oh yes, these kids are related” is beyond him.

Wait, had she seen that and still think they were related? What kind of screwed up hypothetical ship did she think he was running here? Was this normal in this god-forsaken world?

“Kuro-rin, if you keep fuming like that you’ll change the air pressure of the room!” Said the reason why he was fuming in the first place, elbowing him.

“You’re certainly downplaying your role here, aren’t you, you big stupid cat?” He told him, trying to sound casual but with enough bite that the mage would get it. His smile got sharper for a second, seemingly trying to cover up his reaction. Two could play that game, asshole.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The mage told him with his best “charming dunce” smile.

“Sure you don’t.”

“Weeelll, I have to go check on the pastries, could you finish attending this lovely woman for me?” The idiot told him, fleeing back to the kitchen before he had time to do anything more than stare daggers at him.

Cause the mess and run away from the consequences. Typical fucking mage.

“Oooooh~” Exclaimed the old lady, who Kurogane had kind of forgotten was still there. “I see what’s happening here”

Kurogane strongly doubted it.

“What do you mean?” He really didn’t want to know, but he’s got to be polite because they were customers. Damn, customer service was definitely not his path.

“Oh, it can be hard for the new couple to feel like they’re a part of the family. I’ve seen him with your kids though, he clearly loves them to pieces. You’re a lucky man.”

Kurogane was not sure of how to respond to that, so he just grunted and the woman finally left the café. The lady was dead wrong about most of the situation, sure, but there was some truth about the mage in what she said.

After all, the idiot seemed to love to be keen on helping the kids reach their goal supposedly out of "not having anything to do". Kurogane had started to notice, however, that he seemed to try and distance himself from their group. at every chance he got It bothered him not to know why. –Well, he thought he knew _why_ , his mind reminded him, attachment issues were something he and the mage seemed to share – but he would like to know the reasons.

Not that he particularly cared about the mage's business, but his ninja training would not let him drop his guard around the mage until he knew he wasn’t an enemy. And maybe, a small part of him really hoped he wasn’t. It would certainly break the kids’ hearts.

Apparently realizing that the danger had passed, the mage appeared back in the register. He rested his elbows on the counter, looking carefully cheerful as always. From the looks of it, he was ready to pretend his last fuckup never happened.

Tough luck then, bastard.

“Why do you always do that?” Kurogane asked him, not even giving him the chance of speaking again.

“Do what now? I have just gotten here, Kuro-pon.”

“Run away the moment someone implies that you’re also a part of the group.” He did not beat around the bush, because he wasn’t a _coward_ like some people.

“Ooooh, does Kuro-wolf consider me a part of his pack? The big lone wolf just takes everyone under his wing while angrily pretending he doesn’t now?” The mage’s tone was light and even playful, but Kurogane could see the sharp edge of his eyes, the tension in his stance.

Kurogane inched closer, trapping the mage against the counter. To his credit, he did not show a reaction apart from the tension radiating from his body.

“At least I’m honest,” He spat, maintaining eye contact with those sharp blues. “Not keeping charades like some people.”

“ _You_ are honest?” The mage shot back, the playful tone still present but somehow sounding like it was gone. His voice was still lighter than the situation called for, but there was a hard edge to it now. “Big scary dog who insists he doesn’t need anybody while circling around his pups with his teeth bared.”

As he said that, the mage’s smile did not disappear, but it did decrease into a small, crooked one. Kurogane couldn’t help but notice that dropping the dumbass act a bit made him look older, dangerous.

 _(Attractive_ , his mind supplied without his permission.)

The mage made a move to try and circle around him, but he put his hand against the counter, trapping him again.

“Suppose you have a point,” he told him. “What does that make you then? Because I have a feeling that you’re the opposite.”

“You’re uncharacteristically talkative today.” The mage commented, turning his head around to look at the nearby window. “and kind of vague, which is also weird. If you don’t get to the point soon I’m afraid you’ll affect the wea –

Kurogane interrupted him by grabbing his chin, forcing him to look back at him. The mage let out a sharp breath.

“My point is,” Kurogane continued, getting his face closer to prevent him from evading him. “and I’ll put it in your stupid terms, you act like you care about everyone but will soon bare your teeth as well.”

“And?”

“I wouldn’t let you do that to the kids” _Or to me._

The mage smiled again, and pushed him back with more force than Kurogane anticipated.

“If that were the case, then I trust the group’s guard dog to protect the pups as always.” He said without looking at him, before leaving the room in a hurry.


	2. How To (Not) Strengthen Your Pack Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which some worlds are better than others and Fai has some questionable improvisation skills
> 
> Also, Kurogane would really like to stab something.

Sometimes, the worlds they were unceremoniously dropped into had interesting societies, somewhat similar to what Kurogane was used to but still completely different. Other times, however, they were whatever the hell this was.

Correction. This one had been trickier than the normal fucked up world: The white bun had thrown them (separately, mind you) into what looked like a thick rainforest. Despite the fact that the trees were unnaturally tall and also had grey trunks and blue leaves, it seemed normal enough.

He clearly had spoken way too soon because he had only been searching for the others for 10 minutes when things started to get weird.

The good news was that he had found the kid. The bad news, however, were literally everything else.

The kid was currently in a wooden cage, gagged, with his arms and legs bound for good measure, and staring at his captors with an expression that showed in equal parts anger and fascination.

After one look at his enemies, he could see why. Only instead of “fascination” his reaction would be more in the alley of “horrified disgust”

The... _things_ that were currently pointing spears at his direction looked like a toddler’s rendition of a seahorse. They were as tall as Kurogane himself, with bright orange scales and a long, wide tail they seemed to stand on. They had arms, with claws that looked fairly sharp. Their fins and scales also looked hard and pointy. Their faces looked more like a regular horse’s than a seahorse, making them look even more jarring. Even though there were only three of them, fighting these things would apparently prove difficult, more so without a weapon. They _had_ taken the kid down after all. 

“Is this pup yours?” The thing asked, pointing to the kid.

Kurogane could feel a headache coming already. While he really wanted to point out that there were more things wrong than words in the sentence the ugly bastard had uttered, he really didn’t want the kid to get hurt. The white bun was not there to hand him his sword –but she had to be nearby if he was able to understand the creatures – and although he would really like to punch something, he needed to tread carefully. Which, admittedly, wasn't exactly on his skill list. He tried to think of something not-so-aggressive to say.

Finally, he went with: “What do you mean?”

Ugly bastard #1 looked at him with an annoyed expression, like he couldn’t believe he had to have this conversation. _You and me both._

“The _pup,”_ The thing repeated, signaling the cage with its free claw. “We found him alone in the woods.”

That did not answer his question, but at least it kept them talking instead of poking them with their spears. From behind the seahorse, he could see the kid struggling with his restraints.

“He’s with me.” He answered, just to keep stalling while he pondered whether or not he could win this fight bare-handed.

“Is he yours?” One of the things watching over the kid asked, ignoring he had kind of answered that already.

“If it is, you ought to keep it on a leash, lest he get lost again.” Added the one who looked like he was in charge, unkindly. At least he had opened the cage, making a move as if to untie the kid’s bindings. He saw him flinch when the seahorse’s claws dug themselves into his forearms. When he tried to dislodge himself from them, the creature took offense and manhandled him back to his original position.

Kurogane could see spots of red in the kid’s arms now. Yup, he'd had it with these guys.

“He’s not a damn animal.” He argued, anger quickly resurfacing.

It seemed that was the wrong thing to say, as the orange thing laughed and turned to him again. At the very least, the kid was still tied up but left alone for the moment.

“What did you say?” The seahorse asked, both incredulous and darkly amused.

See, he was not made for talking his way out of things. Where was the mage when you needed him? Hell, where was his _sword_ when you needed it?

Well, he made his bed, might as well lie in it.

“You heard me,” he said, eyes glinting with too-long repressed anger.

The kid was giving him a look then. It was eerily similar to Souma’s “Shut the fuck up” look, only the kid was too polite to use such crass language. Overall, it came across as more of a “Please, I’m begging you to reconsider” stare.

He tried to give the kid a reassuring smile, but his face only mustered an evil smirk. He had no time to check the brat’s reaction because the seahorses had raised their spears again.

“You insolent beast!” Roared the ugly in charge.

Kurogane clenched his fists, briefly wondering if the mage, the princess and the white bun were faring any better. A passing image of the princess tied up in a similar fashion crossed his mind.

Whatever anger was still controlled, the thought brought it right back.

“What’s going on here?” Asked an overly saccharine voice that Kurogane could recognize as well as he could the beginning of a headache.

Of course, _now_ was when the mage shows up, Kurogane thought grimly. He wondered if he was waiting nearby for the worst possible moment to intervene.

“And who are _you_?” Spat one of the seahorses. Kurogane was slightly glad that he was not the only one completely fed up with everything that was happening.

When it seemed that the intrusion had distracted the creatures, he spared a glance behind him. There was the mage, seemingly unharmed and with his smile drawn. Behind him was the princess, whose attention was monopolized by the sight of the still kidnapped kid, and the white bun, who was waving at him cheerfully the way only annoying beings who know nobody can hurt them could.

The mage took a step forward, careful to discreetly keep the princess behind him, and put a hand on his shoulder. He looked at Kurogane with one of his trademark smiles, but there was a strange glint in the mage’s eyes this time. He looked almost…bashful?

The weird expression lasted less than a second though, and before he could question anything the wizard turned his attention to the creature and opened his mouth:

“I’m his mate, of course!"

Kurogane choked on air. His mind actually blacked out for a few seconds.

When he came to his senses, he noted that the seahorse was talking again. The contents of what it was saying were being ignored, however, in favour of other pressing matters, like the fact that the mage’s hand was around his lower back.

Luckily, the sight of the –fuck, _still_ trapped – kid reminded him what was happening. Although he had to fight the primal urge of shoving the wizard away before things got out of hand.

“Yes, the pup is ours, you see,” the mage answered, and Kurogane was once again in slight awe of how much voice control he had to spit out bullshit. “We’re so sorry for the inconvenience! And I apologize for my mate here, he’s just really protective of our kids.”

The mage laid his head on his shoulder, motioning him to get close.

“You can’t fight these things, just trust me and play along.” He whispered in his ear.

The mix of the seriousness in the mage’s voice and his hot breath on his neck sent shivers down Kurogane’s spine. He couldn’t recall when he had lost control of the situation so badly, and he was not even sure he minded anymore.

 _That’s a red flag_ , said the part of his brain that was still resisting the surprising power of the mage’s close proximity to his side.

“Aw, you have to admit that mammals are adorable, Kí-ay.” Said one of the creatures that had been guarding the kid, and the ninja part of Kurogane’s brain noticed that all three of the kid’s captors had their full attention on them.

The rest of his brain, however, was suddenly screaming in outrage. _Adorable?_ The anger seemed to overpower his stupid, importunate arousal. The mage had a rare moment of self-awareness and moved out of his personal space, and he could swear he heard a quiet “fuck” while he was detaching himself.

“No need to get all prissy about it, beast.” The third seahorse argued, pointing at him with the spear. His face apparently spared no detail in how pissed he was. Good.

He decided that maybe it was time to try his luck with hand-to-hand. The mage had him up to the neck with the know-it-all bullshit anyway.

Almost like he had read his mind, the mage reached out, holding him by the cape with both hands on his shoulders. The mage had the barest hint of panic in his eyes, and there was also what almost looked like regret.

He did not have time to ponder on anything else, however, as with only a quick “sorry” as a warning, cold lips were suddenly pressing against his. He returned the kiss without even noticing, uncharacteristically lost in the moment. For a brief while, all he could focus on was the feeling of the mage’s lips and his hands on his shoulders.

The mage was the one who broke the kiss, backing away just barely, their noses still almost touching. Fai looked a bit dazed, and when they held eye contact for a second, he saw something raw and vulnerable in his expression.

The moment was over as soon as it started, with the mage letting go of him and turning his attention to the creatures. He’d bet he was rather turning his attention away from him if his brain weren’t a bit putty at the moment.

“Sorry dear, but they are kind of right, you do look adorable all flushed up, I couldn’t resist myself” The mage said, looking at him again, the controlled façade back in his face. His voice was a bit raspy, however.

One of the creatures, the one who had commented on how adorable they were, was looking at them as if they were particularly cute puppies. The leader looked rather disgusted. Neither thing really interested Kurogane though, as he finally noticed what the mage had been trying to distract the seahorses from.

The princess, who must have sneaked out while they were…er, whatever; was currently untying the kid while Mokona quietly conjured his sword. Good thinking.

So they had to give them a few more seconds. Well, the wizard had to, bullshit was _his_ area of expertise and he had unwillingly contributed enough with this ridiculous cover story as it was.

“Cute or not, public displays like that are still forbidden in these parts.” The leader retorted, annoyed. The more he learned about this world, the less he wanted to know anything else.

Kurogane was not about to open his mouth, mostly because, contrary to popular belief, he was aware he had no brain-to-mouth filter. What he supposed he could do, however, was glare intently at the beasts, which required no effort of him and seemed appropriate anyway.

He put a hand on the mage’s shoulder, so nobody could say he did not put _some_ effort into the distraction. The wizard, rather unsurprisingly, flinched a little at the unexpected touch.

“ _Kashin Shourai!_ The kid’s voice roared behind them, and he barely had any time to dodge before the creatures were getting blasted by flames.

“Interesting creatures!” Chipped in the mage, voice now back to his cheerful ring, “Nearly indestructible, but super flammable.”

Indeed, the seahorses were scrambling away, searching for a way of putting themselves off. So he wouldn’t have been able to punch his way out after all.

“I do hope they’ll be able to put themselves out though.” The brat commented, looking back to where the creatures had run off to with slight regret.

The princess put a reassuring hand on his shoulder and told him he did his best, and suddenly the kid had no room on his mind for anything else. The princess's eyes quickly zeroed in his injured arm and started to check on it.

“You too did your best, Sakura-chan!” The mage told her giving her one of his widest grins. “That was an excellent idea!”

“You thought of this, Princess?” Asked the kid, still blushing and in awe.

The princess blushed as well before answering “Oh, is not that big of a deal. Fai-san and I landed near a settlement of nice bear people, and they told us about these creatures and their weakness. Then we found you guys cornered and I thought that if we managed to set Syaoran-kun free he could use his fire spell against them.”

“Good job.” Kurogane told her, and then pretended that he had neither noticed nor been affected by the way the girl beamed at him.

“Originally we thought that Fai-san should distract them while you and I set Syaoran-kun free, but since you were already gathering quite the attention on yourself…well, Fai-san decided to use you as part of the distraction as well.” The princess explained, looking at him rather sheepishly.

An impressively polite way of saying, “whatever the mage did was not my idea”. He had to admit, the girl was clever.

Speaking of the devil. He turned his attention to the mage, glaring at him until he looked back in his direction. He had his eyes closed, and he had that cocky grin on that he hates. He felt his anger come back yet again.

“Care to explain what that was?” He asked rudely, trying to pry the mage’s eyes open with the power of his glare alone.

“Well, a distraction, Kuro-bear! Weren’t you paying attention?” The mage answered, all cheerful and fake as hell. His eyes were open and staring at him, but by the amount of truth in them he may as well be talking to a goddamn tree.

From the corner of his eye, he saw the kid and the princess taking a few steps back. Smart children indeed.

He grabbed the mage by his coat, pulling him a bit closer. He was still staring at blue eyes that might as well be painted on. It pissed him off to no end. Well, that and the fact that he couldn’t quite look at his lips now without thinking of how they felt on his.

“I think you know what I’m talking about.” He spat, tightening his grip. He saw the mage swallow almost imperceptibly and carefully ignored it.

“Sorry, I know you don’t like being reminded how much of a daddy you are.” The wizard told him. His gaze was a bit sharper, seizing him up. A bait.

“Who are you calling a father?” He bit it, trying to placate the thought of how _right_ it felt to have the mage in his arms. _Not the time, not with the kids here._

The easy-going smile turned into a self-satisfied smirk, taunting him. Kurogane hated being called out by the most guarded man he had ever met with a burning passion. He let him go harshly, deciding that the proximity was just making things worse.

Superfluous giggling suddenly came from behind him, and soon after he had a shoulder full of Mokona, looking way too happy for it to mean anything good. Every time Kurogane thought he had the worst social skills out of the group, the bun was quick to prove him wrong:

“Kuro-papa and Fai-mama sitting on a tree! K-I-S- “The creature from hell started singing, with all the tact and prudence of an earthquake. Even the mage looked shocked.

“MOKONA!” The princess shrieked, taking her from his shoulder, “Since we’re all okay now, do you mind checking if there’s a feather nearby?”

The white bun was trying to argue that she had already done that while the princess was gently shushing her and covering her with her body, most likely from him and his death glare. He wouldn’t admit it, but focusing on the perpetrator was so much easier than risking a glance at the mage right now.

Talking about glares, the kid seemed to be looking at him intently. A glance at his direction revealed a neutral, but seizing, expression. Oh, right. Kurogane was not looking forward to getting called out on his recklessness by a teenager. That was the only part of his homeland that he did not miss.

(From across dimensions, princess Tomoyo sneezed and rolled her eyes.)

“Princess, we should go and thank those bear people properly, don’t you think?” The brat said, without breaking eye contact with him. “You and Fai-san can catch up with us later?”

As he said the latter, he signaled to the mage with his eyes, implication clear. Hell, maybe the kid was mad about Kurogane possibly endangering him after all. The kids hurried themselves and the bun out in record time, not necessarily saying “sort yourselves out” out loud, but heavily implying it. Damned smart kids.

“Alright then!” The mage exclaimed as they left, the tone of discomfort almost imperceptible.

The air pressure went up the moment the children’s shadows disappeared in the distance. Fuck, then. He would rather forget the whole ordeal happened, but these full five seconds of tension were already too much for him to put up with.

“There’s nothing to talk about, so let’s go.” He said, because sure as hell the mage wasn’t going to take initiative.

The wizard, unsurprisingly, did not want to do what Kurogane wanted him to and drop the subject. He instead got closer to him, now wielding a teasing smile and half-lidded eyes.

“Oooh. Isn’t there?” He slurred, keeping the act up.

“Fine,” Kurogane, told him, inching closer but keeping his tone neutral. “It worked to get the kids out of trouble but kiss me again and I’ll punch you.”

“You didn’t seem to mind it all that much, though.” The mage retorted, with enough sharpness for Kurogane to find it a bit alluring. Leave it to the mage to annoy his way into lowering his own standards.

He _hadn’t_ minded, which was exactly the damned issue. If he’s being honest with himself, he’d thought about it more often than not lately. The mage, for all his personality flaws, was definitely attractive, and there was a sort of puzzle to his personality that just dragged Kurogane in.

He had only gotten a few glances here and there, but he was sure by now that buried under heavy tons of bullshit, there was a man that interested him.

“Cat got your tongue?” Asked the mage when he took too long to retort. The self-assured smirk he had on looked genuine enough to be a very good look on him.

“Don’t kiss me without permission again.” He argued, trying to keep his composure. Whether or not it was working aside, he recognized an evasion when he saw it.

The almost predatory smile his answer was met with made him realize his choice of words was rather poor. The mage inched even closer, their faces close enough to feel each other’s breaths.

“Should I ask, then?” He breathed out, probably a lot softer than he had aimed for. He couldn’t blame him without being a hypocrite though.

Fai was a complete enigma to Kurogane. There was no telling which side he was on, but he had really hoped he wouldn’t end up against him or the kids. (There was no telling which side _any_ of them were on, nor what the sides even _were_ , if he was being painfully honest.)

 _So much for not getting attached_ , he chastised himself, and leaned into the mage’s mouth.

The kiss was deeper, more aggressive than the last one. Kurogane took the mage by the shoulders, bringing him closer. The mage let out a breathy, quiet moan when Kurogane brushed his teeth against his lips.

The moment was broken moments after, when the mage literally pushed him off, breathing hard. Kurogane stayed still, frowning out of confusion. The mage’s face was carefully neutral, but his body language spoke of someone who bit more than he could chew.

“Sorry, shouldn’t be on our way? The children will be worried.” The fake saccharine was back with a vengeance, and his eyes were yet again sealed off.

“Hey –“ Kurogane started, but the mage was already on his way. He pretended not to hear him.

He sighed, trying to keep himself in check. That was the problem with the mage, you never knew where the hell he was at, which allowed for stuff like _that_ to happen. It’s difficult to make a move on someone who never stayed on a single page for long.

He tried to swallow some of his discontent. Even though he’s mostly mad that he couldn’t catch a single hint of something wrong before the mage cut things short, appearing mad for being rejected is a bad look.

(And the mage would fucking take it that way, no doubt. _“That means I’m the type of person you hate the most”_ type of bullshit. That dense wizard was going to be the death of him.)-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If the title and multiple A/B/O-adjacent terminologies activated your fight-or-flight response, know that it was completely intentional and I relish in your distaste.


	3. Let's Play Pretend (Not Sure of What)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yama was truly a tremendous change of pace. So much that Fai finds himself following a lie rather than creating it. (It's not good for his poor heart)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay POV change. Fai is tricky, and also way too angsty for the fic's intended tone but it was fun to write from his perspective.

Fai turned quietly on his cot for the umpteenth time that night. He felt that if he stared more at the tent’s roof, it would catch fire.

The climate of the country was rather humid, and the heat only made the leather uniform he had to wear even more intolerable. Every passing hour made Fai more convinced that he hated everything in that place.

As much as thinking about it caused him to break a cold sweat, he couldn’t help missing the cold temperatures of Celes. That, and his clothes. He was not a soldier, never had been cut for it. He was definitely a _killer_ , oh yes he had that one figured out. He had had blood on his hands since the moment he was born. The difference was that he always did that on his own. The bright point of being a wizard was that it was a one-man job. The number of people in an army was bound to do him in.

Most of all though, he missed being able to talk.

Well, he didn’t exactly _miss_ it, as that would imply he could do without it. He needed words, speech to make it through this journey. Fai was feeling really grateful for his almost life-long face control practice at the moment, but it wasn’t enough. This was bad. You could control speech, mold its pitch and tone into whatever you liked. The body was a lot more difficult to control.

Even more so, when you were depending on a body-language expert for social survival.

He wondered how much of Kurogane’s people-reading skills were required for his line of work, and how much of it was just _him_. It wasn’t like he could avoid him either, as he depended on him on this damn place. He should be grateful that this man, for all his bark, was so ridiculously kind. He would have died on the spot the night they arrived if he weren’t.

(Well, not _died_. He couldn’t afford to do that. It would have been ugly, though. And bothersome.)

He would love to know what the hell he told the soldiers to ensure not only their safety, but a place in the army. Especially considering that words were pointedly _not_ Kurogane’s strong forte.

(He digressed: _fake_ words were Kurogane’s weak spot. The truth, however, he wielded it as expertly as his sword. In the worst nights, he envied his ability to just _do_ what he thought was right, forsaking the consequences.)

He had certainly looked constipated when he had been talking to the patrol officers, but then again, when did the man not look constipated? (It was noted to happen, when Fai wasn’t speaking. The thought sat uncomfortably in his mind.)

The man in question was currently sleeping next to him, way too close to him for Fai’s peace of mind. He could feel the steady rhythm of his short breaths, indicating he was only lightly asleep at best. His right arm was brushing slightly against Fai’s, and it was driving him insane.

Fai assumed for the position of his arm that he was sleeping on his back, as he always did. He couldn’t really check, because if the input from his other senses was keeping him awake already, he didn’t dare add visuals to the hormonal cocktail. He had made that mistake the first few nights and had learned two valuable things: the only time the wrinkles in the man’s face eased was when he slept, and his face was ridiculously attractive when he looked relaxed.

At the thought of Kurogane’s face, the memories of the previous day resurfaced. He carefully took his hands to his face, trying not to groan aloud.

_Something_ had happened. They had been in the dining tent, Kurogane talking to some soldiers he…. befriended? Maybe not, something more Kurogane-eske. Soldiers he tolerated, more like. He had been trying to keep the smile going, figure out what was going on by environmental clues, when it had happened.

One of the soldiers had said something. He still hadn’t got a clue of _what_. But Kurogane had reacted. Badly. Not badly as in “I’m going to wipe the floor with this dude”, which was actually quite surprising to Fai, but it had been more like…embarrassment? Fear?

Fai had been immediately on guard. Those feelings weren’t the usual Kurogane brand, less so at the same time. He had expected bloodshed. Or getting dishonorably discharged, best case scenario.

That was not what had happened.

Kurogane had answered something, still with that outrageous look on his face, and had turned to Fai. He had looked at him, talked to him, all while smiling. It had been a fake one, of course. He was the expert at it, he could tell. So he had been lying about something. Something that concerned them both. Or maybe just him. (He needed _words_.)

His frantic train of thought had been interrupted, however, by a hand tilting his chin up. Kurogane had looked at him in the eyes, glanced pointedly at his lips, and then back up. He was asking for permission. The train promptly crashed.

He leaned in, dazed. What else was he supposed to _do_ after that?

The kiss had been short and careful, but Fai wasn’t complaining. He had been too confused to feel pathetic about the way his chest had burst with the kiss. Even when he detached himself from Fai, Kurogane still had kept a hand on his shoulders.

He had forcefully shaken himself out of his stupor when he noticed he was talking with the other soldiers. They were looking at them with a look of understanding, like Kurogane had just confirmed something.

Oh, you had to be kidding him. What, exactly, had Kurogane told them? Of course, the question was for the small amount of his brain that wasn’t shortcircuiting.

He had tried to get Kurogane’s attention after they left the dining tent. He had stared intently and said his name. He had even resorted to elbowing him, all with no luck. The man was stubborn as a mule when he wanted to be, and he seemed intent on pretending he had no idea why Fai was trying to catch his attention. He didn’t even react to the elbowing, which was extremely telling.

He did see him blush out of the corner of his eye. It was very faint, like his face was trying to force it out of existence, but it was there. Considering the absolute riot that had created in his brain, he would have much rather not to have seen it.

He could have dealt with the kiss alone. If it was a ruse to justify his being here, it was fine. Kurogane’s reactions though, showed that there could be a little more to it, and it was driving him insane.

Fai closed his eyes, hating himself and everything. _Fuck._ This was bad. In retrospect, he shouldn’t have acted all flirty and teasing to the man he was supposed to be the wariest of. Look what he had –possibly – done: The man had feelings for him.

Yes, he had spent a few nights too many thinking of the insanely hot, insanely good man feeling his heart ache. And yes, he was starting to think he was in too deep, that there was no way out of this stupid crush – this stupid _love_. However, that was his problem. His heart was always aching anyway (he deserved it).

The noble thing, the selfless thing to do would have been to keep him away, not to drag Kurogane into the cursed abyss that was Fai. So many years had passed and he still overestimated himself, huh. Was he that naïve or did he just get progressively worse every passing year?

He had _tried._ For all intents and purposes, he was already the type of person that Kurogane couldn’t stand. For that reason, he had thought that there would be no harm in hamming that up, to have a little indulgence.

Cursed, fucking cursed. Kurogane seemed to see something in him that was worth it and oh gods, that could only end badly. There was enough heartache coming on the way; Fai had no _right_ to add more onto these people.

He knew he couldn’t dream of it. Fai had spent all his life learning all the tricks to appear a good, likable person. Meanwhile, Kurogane was one of the best men Fai had ever met, and it came so naturally to him that there was no threat or scary attitude that he could use to cover it.

To think that he had thought, in the beginning, that the grumpy ninja with anger issues would be the easiest to deal with. The lightest cross to bear. Fuck, had he been wrong. And really, he knew the gods hated him, that’s the basis for the ever-interlaying string of troubles that he called life, but come on!

For someone selfish as hell, he sure was ridden with guilt. You couldn’t have both: you are either an unrepentant bastard about it or you try to be better. This middle point was pathetic. He had a mission. If he were more of a bastard, (and he had tried to be) he could play his part without caring for the children nor the ninja. But _no._

Turns out the children he’s supposed to aid in screwing over are some of the best, most genuine people he’s ever met, and if that wasn’t bad enough, the third person in the group (the goddamned pawn of the opposite side!) is also a hot, caring, grumpy, kind man he’s just so weak for and….

He sucked at this. He was an instrument of evil, literally born a bad omen, and he sucked at it. Unbelievable. 

He sighed, low and frustrated into his pillow. If anything, his loathing had at least killed some of his horniness. Maybe he could manage to depress himself into sleep.

There was also the fact that they may very well be trapped here for a long time. In a foreign land, unable to speak, depending on the very man he so badly wanted and couldn’t have. He would have to keep living, as always.

Kurogane was still hopeful, he could tell. It wasn’t optimism, but his goal-oriented brain at work: Kurogane wanted to go home, all else was just an obstacle to overcome, current situation included. He bitterly envied that kind of confidence, that resolve that things would work out in the end because you would _make_ them work out. Like you could have any say in what destiny befell upon you.

Take it as they liked best, the truth was that the only thing they could do was keep working for the army, fight the battles, and hope the children and Mokona would eventually show up.

(Unfortunately, Fai had run out of hope a long time ago. It suffocated somewhere at the bottom of a cold tower.)

* * *

The next night, they were taken yet again to the warzone. He had the bow they had given him; a weapon he had chosen because he ought to show some skill or they would kick him out, Kurogane’s meddling or not, and a long-range weapon was safe enough. (Kurogane had still stared at him for a very long time when he hit those bullseyes.)

Kurogane was right beside him, with a slayer grin that was honestly quite terrifying. Fai could definitely agree that it was kind of hot, but come on, this overzealous dog could try to keep his thirst for violence in his pants.

“It seems something is going on Ashura’s side.” One of the soldiers on the other side of Fai’s horse said; and it took him a minute to realize he _understood it_.

He turned to Kurogane so fast he heard his neck crack. The other man’s eyes were wide and sharp, as if he was trying to spot Mokona and the kids from the other side of the battlefield by willpower alone.

_Mokona and the kids._ He still couldn’t process it. _They were there._

“Listen,” Kurogane whispered, serious. “I’ll fight the kid, you make sure no one interferes.

“uh, what?” he hissed back, confusion making him forget to control his voice. That was nowhere near where he thought he was going with this new development.

Kurogane grunted as if _Fai_ was the one who was being ridiculous. It was the first time in months that he could communicate with him and the damn man had him on his nerves already.

“Brat’s not mastered sword fighting yet, and this is a battlefield. He could maybe keep himself safe, but he’ll be in trouble if the princess is with him.” Kurogane explained, still keeping his voice low.

Alright, that did make sense. He was about to agree when the man shushed him.

“Shut up, idiot.” He scolded him, “don’t you think it is suspicious that you can suddenly understand and speak the language?”

He nodded, understanding what Kurogane was getting at. They didn’t want to call attention to themselves, especially if they wanted to get out of this relatively unharmed. They should probably not act familiar with Syaoran and Sakura either…

“When we find the kids, pretend you don’t know them” Kurogane added seconds after, seeming to have reached the same conclusion.

“Kids?” A soldier close to Kurogane asked, startling them both. Fai froze, hoping they hadn’t just blown their plan.

Kurogane didn’t look as worried, but still glared daggers at the soldier, who simply gave him a sheepish smile and held his arms up in a placating gesture.

“Relax. Sorry, you were talking about your children, right? Don’t tell me they’re stranded in Shura.”

Well, Fai froze yet again but for an entirely different reason. _Their what now?_

“No, they’re not.” Kurogane answered like it pained him to do so.

He didn’t _disagree_ with what the soldier had said, which made Fai even more dumbfounded. This was the same man who would try and hit him for even thinking the word dad in his direction. Had he really concocted a lie like that?

(He supposed the real shocker there was not that he had pretended that Syaoran and Sakura were his, but that they were _theirs_. He couldn’t bear to unpack that, at least not at the moment.)

“Well, once the war’s over and we get control of the place, all our wishes will be granted. So you’ll see them soon!” The soldier assured him, before turning again to speak with someone else.

Kurogane was pointedly not looking at him. Fai had never seen such effort put into not looking at someone. It was rather impressive. Too bad though, because even if he couldn’t _deal_ with the new information, he could sure as hell _enjoy_ it.

“Soo~” He chimed, basking in the way Kurogane’s shoulder tensed up in anticipation. It felt so good to use words again. “ Our kids?”

He wiggled his eyebrows for good measure. It was the only way he could say that aloud. Kurogane gritted his teeth, his face contorted into a face of pure regret and anger. Fai was trying to drink it all up.

He opened his mouth as if to speak, but Fai was not done: “So you told them, what? That I’m your foreigner wife?”

He cringed internally, decidedly not thinking about what he had just said.

“I was trying to justify you and possibly the kids’ existence,” Kurogane argued and _ok Fai was not expecting him to agree with what he had said abort mission abort mission._

They were both saved of the direction the conversation had taken by the army’s drums. Fai looked forward not to have to think of that for a few hours. Finding the kids was a priority; his weird feeling concoction could wait, as always. 


	4. Just A Normal Family Walking Through The Woods, With Blood

Sakura woke up to the feeling of a calloused hand gently but firmly tapping her cheek. Her body felt oddly disconnected from her brain, consciousness coming back to her in slow waves.

The first thing she became aware of was a sharp pain on her side. Something was pressing against it. She felt how instinct made a feeble hand raise up to get the pressure _off_. Her hand was stopped by another one, slim and cold and vaguely familiar, that gently laid it back to her side.

The pain was sharp but bearable, and at the very least, it was anchoring her to the present. She realized that she was lying down, her back resting against something warm and solid that she also found vaguely recognizable.

She tried to open her eyes but found them to be quite heavier than she remembered. Sakura was dimly aware of the hushed conversation happening above her, but couldn’t make out the words. _Maybe Mokona is away_ , she rationalized faintly.

_Wait…Mokona…_

The memories of the last half hour started to arrange themselves in her mind: They had been running, caught in the middle of a battle, men in black vests and heavy boots giving chase, shooting some sort of projectile weapons…

The connection failure between her ears and her mind fixed itself out; just in time for her to process the words that accompanied yet another firm tap on her cheek.

“ – _kid,_ open your eyes.” The voice was low and grumbling, an _edge_ to the words that seemed to shine through all the speaker’s attempts to subdue it.

She recognized the voice, along with the chest and legs she was leaning onto and the hand that was now resting on her cheek. A slight tremor to it drew her attention. Kurogane, for all his questionable attitudes in the heat of battle, was nothing less than focused and _precise_ under pressure. The man did not _falter_.

Her brows furrowed, worsening a headache she hadn’t even registered up to that moment. _Is he alright?_

Something happened in between the chase and where they were now, but she couldn’t get her memories to cooperate ( _because when could she ever,_ a tiny, _tired_ part of herself wondered.)

Her eyes, however, remained stubbornly closed. The others must have caught her movement, however, because long fingers were suddenly wrapping themselves around hers, grip gentle but grounding.

“I know it doesn’t feel good, Sakura-chan, but bear with me for just a _bit_ longer.” Fai’s usual upbeat tone was subdued, and the edge on his voice was one she could recognize as panic.

The fact did nothing to appease the warning bells in her mind. _Something is wrong_.

Finally, worry for her friends overruled the hold her muscles had on her eyelids and she opened her eyes. She found herself looking right at ruby eyes that made her flinch with the intensity of their gaze.

Kurogane’s whole face was hard set, lips sealed in a thin line, and brows furrowed so prominently that Sakura wondered whether his temple hurt from the effort. There was a trail of blood coming down from the side of his head, but his eyes definitely didn’t look like he had a head injury.

He continued to stare at her for several seconds, before apparently being satisfied with what he saw enough for his glare to morph into something _sharp_.

He opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again. The image was reminiscent of the times he was about to tear into Fai or Mokona for doing something he found particularly ill-advised.

“Welcome back.” He said curtly, after visibly biting down something else. His voice was still low and controlled, some of that weird edge gone.

“Are you okay?” She managed to whisper, but she missed his answer because Fai did _something_ to her side that had her seeing stars.

She felt the hand on her cheek begin to move as if to stroke it, only to freeze mid-movement like its owner had caught himself. The hand lingered awkwardly above her face for a second before settling on brushing her bangs away from her sweaty forehead. Sakura anchored herself to it. The feeling warm and _safe_ as opposed to whatever pressuring thing was happening to her abdomen.

She was curious, and confused, but not afraid. Fai’s hands were making quick work of her injury – and _oh_ , she was injured, she now realized – and she trusted he would do good work on it.

A dry sound that could either be a laugh or a bark brought her attention back to Kurogane.

“Princess, worry about _yourself_.” The tone was tense, anger coating its edges. If his arms tightened minimally after he was done speaking, Sakura pretended not to notice.

“Ignore Kuro-worry, Sakura-chan.” Fai seemed to have gotten a hold of his voice quality again, the words coming out in his usual easy tone. “Your little stunt back there got his tail in a twist.”

 _Stunt?_ Sakura made some more effort to remember, and miraculously, she managed to do it.

They had been cornered against a wire fence, which seemed to extend long along the forest. It would have taken them too long to run around it without getting shot. Kurogane, not one to go down without a fight, had decided that if they were cornered, so were their enemies. He had rushed forward, lounging at the nearest assailant. Fai had taken advantage of the pursuers’ distraction to start moving towards a spot that looked rusty and torn, pulling Sakura between his body and the fence.

Kurogane had been doing well, dodging bullets with surprising ease and taking down several of his enemies. However, their pursuers weren’t a lot, but they had ranged weapons and Kurogane was fighting bare-handed.

The ninja seemed to be aware of this as well because after he had thrown a quick glance back to see if Fai and she were close to the slight opening, he too had started to draw back to their direction.

Fai had been already working on making the hole bigger and ushering her into it, Kurogane coming close behind, when she had seen it. She had seen the attacker aiming his weapon at Kurogane’s back, and more importantly, that Kurogane _hadn’t seen it_.

 _Kurogane won’t make it_. Sakura had thought as she pushed herself away from Fai and launched her whole bodyweight at him, which was not much but the move was surprising enough to make the man stagger backward. _The odds of it hitting something important are too big._

Well, odds had always been in Sakura’s favor.

She heard Kurogane’s surprised grunt as she collided against him, as well as Fai’s shocked cry behind them.

Then something had hit her middle and everything had gone black.

….

“Sakura-chan?” Fai called her, once again losing the tight grip on his tone.

Sakura hummed in response, raising her head to look at him. Fai was still smiling, but the lines in his face were stiff and his eyes kept glancing nervously between her face and her injury.

“I’m fine.” She told him, and after taking stock of her body, she pleasantly found that it was true. The wound had dulled considerably following Fai’s patchwork, and she was fairly positive she could get up again with a bit of help.

Both Fai and Kurogane were staring at her contemplatively now. The former with a carefully gentle expression and the latter with open skepticism. The scene reminded Sakura of the way Touya and Yukito used to check her over when she got hurt playing.

Whatever they saw on her face seemed to convince them both, as Fai let out a relieved sigh and the hands that were supporting her weight loosened considerably.

“It seems to be as I had thought,” Fai chimed in, back to his cheerful timbre. “It wasn’t the injury that rendered her unconscious. The sudden hit just sucked up all of her body’s energy.”

Sakura considered this, and found herself agreeing. The wound was obviously not life-threatening, and her body _did_ have a short supply of strength, with most of her soul still missing.

Thinking about her injury reminded her that there had been assailants after them. Trying to get up and look around in their new location, she asked about what had happened after she had passed out.

Kurogane frowned again, just as Fai started talking again, grinning wide.

“Oh, papa wolf over here went _feral_ the second you got hit, by the time I had moved you safely behind the fence and some trees, Kuro-slayer had taken care of all of them!”

Sakura couldn’t help but feel a rush of warmth at Fai’s words. Kurogane, for his part, was practically vibrating with anger at the explanation. Sakura could feel it, as she was still mostly lying on him. _Oh, well, here we go_.

“Oi, never call me that again.” Kurogane threatened, keeping his voice low most likely just for her sake.

“Never call you _what_ exactly?” Fai asked, a mischievous glint in his eyes contradicting the innocent tone of his statement. “I referred to you multiple times in that sentence. Was it daddy wolf that did it? Kuro-dad?”

Sakura was sure that if she weren’t in his lap right now, Kurogane would have leaped at Fai already. The vibration she could feel was reaching concerning levels.

“ _What –_ you didn’t even mention those to begin with – also _who_ are you calling a _dad_?” Kurogane hollered, seemingly forgetting he was trying not to startle her.

She cringed, her head protesting the noise. She felt Kurogane tense, sending a quick apologetic glance down to her before going back to glaring daggers at Fai. The mage seemed to be perfectly aware of the physical advantage he had just been given for the time being and making full use of it.

“You say that like you haven’t had Sakura-chan held securely on your lap since the second you were done fighting.” He argued, signaling to their current position with an exaggerated hand movement. His grin was big and predatory by this point.

Kurogane actually sputtered, suddenly looking at Sakura like he had just noticed she was there leaning against him. She thought she could make out the faintest blush over his cheeks.

“We needed her off the ground so her wound wouldn’t get dirty and infected, _jackass_.”

Sakura made a move to get up, mostly as a kindness to Kurogane but also a good bit to get them to stop before it kept escalating. As she pressed her hands to Kurogane’s legs to propel herself upwards, she felt a hand steading her back.

“Maybe you shouldn’t get up just yet?” Fai suggested lightly, the way his eyes kept coming back to her injury betraying his worry.

Kurogane tsk’ed at him, getting up after she managed to get to her feet, his hand still on her back.

“Let her try first.” He chastised, throwing a disappointed look at Fai before addressing her. “How’s the pain?”

Her side did not appreciate it, the injury stretching uncomfortably in this new position, but she could tolerate it. She told him as much.

Kurogane nodded, seemingly satisfied with her answer, and removed his hand. Fai inched a bit closer, looking rather conflicted still. Sakura smiled at him, trying to show that she was truly okay. This seemed to snap him out of his slip, as his signature smile made another appearance after a bit.

“Why don’t you try walking?” He suggested.

Sakura did so. The wound protested with a lot more intensity than when she had gotten up. She couldn’t help but wince. The throbbing pain was rather…unpleasant, but she was sure she could manage to walk. Probably.

“Princess?” Kurogane asked, his hand once again hovering over her back.

“I’m fine!” She assured both of them, like a liar. “We should really start looking for Syaoran-kun and Mokona-chan.” Kurogane just raised a skeptical eyebrow, but let the subject drop.

They all agreed that trying to look for Syaoran and Mokona in a forest during night time was a foolish idea and that it would be better for them to look for the nearest town, as Syaoran was probably doing the same anyway and they had better chances of finding each other in civilized locations.

“I think I saw lights coming from over there.” Fai said, signaling behind the trees directly in front of them. Indeed, if she squinted, she could make out some white lights shining in the distance.

They began their trip ahead, being careful not to make much noise in case there were more pursuers after them. Walking quickly with her injury was proving difficult. Walking in general was proving difficult if she was being honest.

Nevertheless, she sucked up the pain the best she could and powered forward. She had been dead weight for this group for so long, those first few months where there wasn’t enough soul in her to stay awake for more than a few hours. These people had all been so exceptionally kind, it was about time she started to reciprocate that kindness.

Despite all her efforts, pain and exhaustion were getting the best of her. After walking for around ten minutes. Kurogane caught her before she tripped over a tree root, accidentally uttering a loud hiss of pain, the ninja suggested what she had been trying to avoid.

“Should I carry you?” It wasn’t so much a question, it felt more like a polite order. She shook her head no anyway, whipping the sweat from her forehead.

Kurogane was not convinced. By the way Fai had stayed silent so far, it seemed that they were uncharacteristically agreeing on something.

“You shouldn’t strain yourself either.” She argued, not ready to back down from this just yet. “You’re injured from the fight, aren’t you?”

Sakura _knew_ that was true. She could see all the dried out blood that adorned the side of his head, and the way he seemed to be favouring his left side since they had started moving again.

Kurogane huffed, clearly unhappy at his injuries being brought up.

“You barely even weight anything to me.” The deadpan way he said it made her wonder if she should be offended by that statement. He certainly looked like Touya when he was arguing with her about what he considered a particularly dumb subject.

“I can make it.” She contended, locking eyes with him.

They both held intense eye contact for a while. From behind her, Sakura could hear Fai snorting.

Kurogane finally sighed, averting his eyes for a moment.

“At least hold onto me or the mage for the rest of the trip, I don’t want to explain to the kid why you bled out of pure stubbornness.”

Fai laughed, loud and mean. Sakura thought she heard him mutter “ _bested by a girl a quarter of his size”_

Kurogane obviously heard it too, because he was quick to respond in his usual aggravated way:

“You know, as the only asshole in this group who has so far been both unhelpful and uninjured, why don’t you help the princess walk the rest of the way?”

Fai stuck out his tongue at him, but offered his arm to Sakura in one dramatic movement, as if he were inviting her to dance.

“May I, princess?” He said with faux politeness.

Sakura snickered, taking his arm and thanking him in the same pompous manner. Kurogane rolled his eyes as he walked ahead of them.

Sakura had to admit the rest of the trip was made easier by not having to support her full weight on her legs. At the very least she was not carried like a baby this time around.

They finally reached the source of the lights, and the metal poles that generated them were scattered alongside what looked like a road that ran across the side of a hill. Now that she looked at them better, the poles looked like those electric lights back at Piffle. This world must have similar technology.

“If we’re lucky, someone may pass along this road that can help us get our bearings.” Fai commented, looking back to the other end of the road, trying to make out anyone coming by.

“Or maybe we’ll just run into more of those guys from before.” Kurogane countered, alert to the noises around them.

“Always a beacon of hope, Kuro-wary.”

“Princess, let go of him for a second, I need to throw a rock at his stupid face.”

Fai gasped, making a big deal out of putting his arms on her shoulders and hiding behind her. Sakura sighed, even though she was a bit amused by their antics.

“Aw, worried you’ll hit your darling girl instead?”

“ _Ugh,_ don’t use _that_ expression again, how do they keep getting _worse_ – and also stop hiding behind children, asshole.”

“Says the guy who wants to throw rocks at me.”

“That’s just a natural reaction to your personality.”

Sakura tuned them out, trying to look around for anything they missed. In the distance, she saw what looked like a car approaching, its front lights illuminating the pavement below them.

“I will choke the life out of you –“

“ _oooh,_ and then what? –“

“Um, Kurogane-san, Fai-san? A vehicle is approaching.” Sakura managed to chime in.

With terrifying velocity, both men dropped the childish discussion and stepped into a defensive formation. Fai’s arms tightened around Sakura’s shoulders, bringing her closer to him; and Kurogane took a step in front of them both.

The car in question slowed down as it approached the group, stopping right in front of them. From the driver’s window appeared an old man. His head was almost bald save for a few stray white hairs hanging from the sides of his head. He was wearing a blue jean overall and looking at the three of them – and quite possibly the amount of blood in them – with increasing suspicion.

“Everything alright, fellas?” The man asked, eyes darting between Kurogane’s imposing form and Fai’s side glance. “It’s too late to be up in the woods. Lots’a wild animals running around.”

“Oh, we’re so terribly lost!” Fai chimed in, voice saccharine and affected. “Could you maybe give us a hand getting back to town?”

That brought the old man’s attention back to where Fai and Sakura were standing. The man’s eyes seemed to zero in on Sakura in particular, more specifically, in her midsection and the traces of blood still prominent in her shirt.

The man’s brows furrowed, looking back to Kurogane and Fai with a hint of _something_ that put Sakura on edge. Maybe he knew about the people who pursued them?

“Lass,” The man addressed her carefully, looking right in her eyes as if searching for something. “Everything alright?”

Sakura was growing more and more confused with this interaction. “Yes?” She answered a bit dumbly, and then remembered the bloody gash in her clothes. Maybe he was referring to that?

“I’m okay. I got hurt but it's fine.” She assured him, carefully leaving out the part of the pursuers and the battle.

Fai had told her some time ago that not all worlds were places where you could just pull swords at people, so they had to be careful when meeting strangers until they knew more about the world and its customs.

The man hummed, and it was evident by his expression that her answer hadn’t been satisfactory. Sakura couldn’t understand what was going on with this conversation, so she tried to steer it to safer territory.

“My name is Sakura, and these are Fai and Kurogane.” She introduced them all with a bright smile. She wished she was out of Fai’s grip so she could gently nudge Kurogane to stop glaring so distrustfully at a possible ally.

“We’re trying to find a town so we can rest. Could you maybe give us a lift? We’ll do our best to pay you back!” She continued, hiding her victorious smile when she noticed the man’s visage softening at her words.

“Preferably a town with a doctor.” Added Kurogane pointedly, shooting a quick glare at her in what was quite possibly Kurogane speech for _and you should have started with that_.

“Sure.” The man conceded, eyeing them one last time. “Hop in, there’s a small neighbourhood some miles from here.”

“Thank you!” Sakura exclaimed. “Sorry, what’s your name?

“Eidan.” The old man answered, smiling for the first time since they had met him.

“Thank you for your help, Eidan!” Fai exclaimed, throwing a flashy smile in his direction while ushering Sakura to the back door.

“Thanks.” Muttered Kurogane, after Sakura nudged him on the arm on her way to the car.

“No problem,” Eidan said, and Sakura couldn’t help but notice he was still giving the other adults that weird look. “Hey Lass, why don’t you drive in the passenger seat? The seat’s a bit busted and can recline more than it should. It would take the pressure off your injury if you’re lying down.”

Fai’s hands momentarily tightened around hers, and she saw Kurogane tense as well. Fai looked down at her, seemingly waiting for her response. They didn’t like it, but they were leaving it up to her to decide.

“Sure.” She agreed, smiling in a placating way at her companions before moving to the front seat.

Sakura had to admit the Eidan was right: Lying down felt _fantastic_ after walking for so long. The seat didn’t recline enough for her to lay completely horizontally, but this was more than enough.

Fai was quick to start conversation. Sakura and Kurogane stayed quiet, this was Fai’s forte and they were both tired from the fight.

“ What were you all doin’ in the woods at ass in the morning, anyway?” The old man asked, glaring skeptically at the men in the backseat from the rear mirror.

“Oh, we got into a bit of trouble.” Fai answered. Well, _not_ answered, in Sakura’s opinion. Fai kind of did that a lot.

“Trouble?” Eidan parroted, back to that weird tone from earlier. “I heard there was some weird bunch going round these parts, done some vandalizin’ and kidnappings”

Oh, maybe that was the group they had ran into earlier, Sakura thought just as Fai voiced more or less the same thing.

“Maybe so.” The man conceded, sounding very skeptical all of sudden.

The ride continued silently for a while after that, at least until Fai said something to Kurogane that had them both engaging in one of their silly games yet again. Sakura couldn’t help but smile.

“Sakura?” The man said quietly enough that the bickering men behind them could not hear him. “Are ya’ with those two really?”

Sakura was taken aback. What did he mean? She had said they were traveling together…

Then she remembered what he had said earlier, about a group of kidnappers and his insistence that she ride with him, physically separating her from the other two. She thought of her injury and Kurogane and Fai’s admittedly suspicious behaviour, and then tried to see it from another perspective. The man’s weird behaviour was just…

 _Ah._ She felt rather silly for not realizing it earlier.

“Oh I’m perfectly safe!” She told him with all the honesty she could muster. “They’re family. You don’t have to worry.”

The man visibly relaxed after that, and Sakura was rather touched that he had put himself in a seemingly dangerous position for her sake by inviting them all to his car. Eidan did a double-take and looked at her again, expression doubtful.

“Are they ya dads?”

Sakura froze for a minute. She was inclined to deny it, vehemently so, but thought better about it. The word “family” had slipped from her mouth not a minute earlier. It wasn’t odd for Eidan to reach that conclusion. And even then it rang true, even if it was a rather unconventional. Sakura considered Syaoran, Fai, Mokona and Kurogane to be as part of her family as the people in her memories were, for all they had endured together.

Besides, Kurogane looked older than his age and Fai, well, she didn’t know how old he was but he was definitely way older than Kurogane or her. She knew that there were some worlds where it was _weird_ for adults to be hanging out with children that were not theirs. If this was one of those worlds, and considering the man already seemed very distrustful of the two men to begin with…

She hoped Kurogane wouldn’t be too mad at her.

“Yes.” The word felt odd in her mouth. Despite all of Fai and Mokona’s jokes on the supposed family roles they had taken, she was still a bit conflicted about it.

The old man smiled, visibly more relaxed than he had been since they meet. Sakura realized that she needed to let the other two in on the lie, so as to not make the poor, kind man more suspicious than he already was.

Noticing that their silly argument was getting louder in volume, she thought of a good way to do so. She swallowed hard, steeling herself for the bomb she knew was about to drop on the backseat, and turned around to face her companions.

“Hey, dad?” She made sure to look eyes with Fai, who was the one in her field of vision, trying to convey the meaning behind her words with a meaningful look. “Could you maybe keep it down? My head hurts a little bit.”

Fai’s reaction was…odd. He looked uncharacteristically caught by surprise, his mouth hanging slightly opened and his eyes shining with confusion that quickly morphed into something shakier. Sakura was worried. Had she crossed a line? He never seemed to mind when Mokona did it…

A harsh elbow to his side seemed to bring Fai back to reality. Kurogane glanced at him, mostly annoyed but with a hint of amusement in his features. He turned to her, and the soft smile he greeted her with made _her_ stumble in confusion.

“Alright kid.” He told her in a surprisingly gentle tone before adding, with a sharpness more on brand to the Kurogane she knew, “Turn around, you’ll reopen your injury if strain the muscles.”

The answer to the uncharacteristic behaviour came seconds after he was done speaking. He looked back at the still shell-shocked Fai, the tiniest snort escaping his mouth. From the rear mirror, Sakura saw Kurogane whispering something into Fai’s ear, which seemed to make him annoyed for a small moment, before his usual façade came back full force.

“Oh I’m so sorry dear!” He told her exaggeratedly, like he was trying to make up for the time he spent silent. “You know how your old man here gets!”

Sakura was sure she heard Kurogane mutter “ _how am I the old man here?” _under his breath. Fai, unbothered by his partner’s lack of enthusiasm, launched himself around Kurogane’s arm, a dreamy expression plastered on his face.

Sakura sank further into her seat, suddenly regretting her idea. _War was breaking back there._

Eidan, bless his heart, didn’t seem to notice the dangerous mood shift in the occupants of the backseat of his car.

“So, you lads been together for long?”

From the rear mirror, Sakura saw Fai’s eyes glint with a familiar fire. Kurogane, seemingly resigned to his fate, just sighed, rubbing a weary hand in his face.

Sakura sighed as well. This was going to be one _long_ trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got so caught up with Sakura and Kurogane interacting that I forgot my original plotline for this chapter. Also this wasn't going to have a linear plotline at all but alas, it has one now.


	5. Trying to Pass Trough An Ajar Door (Before)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said this was a 6+1 thing but this chapter became such a monster I decided to split it in two ;; so yeah this one and the next were originally a very long chapter that decided to have a resemblance of a plot.

The rest of the drive was, as expected, full of awkward questions. Kurogane was getting wearier and wearier as the mage continued to spew bullshit while attached to his arm like a damn limpet. How far away was that fucking town again?

They were both quite obviously trying to throw each other off without blowing their cover. Fai was being especially vicious with his words today. Kurogane supposed it was due to his own comments earlier.

Not that he regretted it, the mage’s face at the princess words had been both very telling and hilarious to watch. He couldn’t help but whisper “ _Can’t you follow a simple lie now, dad?” _and bask momentarily in being able to outlie him for a few seconds.

_What happened, you dumb mage? “Dad” comments aren’t so fun when they are directed at you?_

But now, 20 minutes into a conversation in which he couldn’t ignore the way the mage’s body pressed against his side or the tickling of his hair against his collarbone, he was starting to reconsider.

“And you haven’t settled in the country yet?” Eidan asked, likely following some bullshit the idiot had said, which admittedly Kurogane was too _distracted_ to hear.

“Oh, no, we hadn’t had the time.” The mage said, in that stupid sing-song tone of his. “We have been travelling, getting to know the place.”

That last part was said right into his face, with the moron fluttering his eyelids at him like a love-struck maiden. However, the glint of his eyes was sharp, and there was a sort of vindictive air to his words, like he wanted Kurogane to be as uncomfortable as possible.

Kurogane wanted to punch him right in the nose. There had been a _shift_ after Yama; he was sure the idiot had noticed, at least to some extent, that he was becoming important to Kurogane. So it should come as no surprise that he was wasting no opportunity to use that against him.

Kurogane tried to remind himself of the web of lies around the man next to him, the real possibility of him being an enemy. However, his mind was quick to counter those thoughts with those small peaks of vulnerability he had seen, and how they didn’t seem to betray a traitor, but somebody who’s just _regretful_.

However, those musings had taken the backseat to the fact that the idiot was sliding hot iron straight into his nerves. Once Eidan was distracted talking to the princess, he showed the mage away. His side protested at the sudden lack of warmth, and he willed it to shut the fuck up.

The idiot let out a breathy chuckle, wielding a relaxed smile with low-lidded eyes. The quick side-glance thrown at Kurogane’s direction looked _pleased_ out of all things, and it just made him angrier.

Strangely enough, that was it. The mage stayed relatively in his lane – for his standards – for the rest of the trip. Admittedly, there wasn’t much time left of it. They reached their destination, the old man’s house, in about fifteen minutes after the incident.

The car stopped in front of a clearing in between a thick patch of trees, and a humble house could be seen a few feet away. Kurogane wasted no time to go and get the princess – who was already trying to walk by herself again, like the bull-headed _idiot_ she was – mostly to get out of the mage’s close proximity.

Not wanting to get into a pointless argument, he simply picked the girl up in his arms and started walking towards the house. His actions elided a surprised yelp from the princess, and a judging glance from the mage. Fine, so that was rude of him, but it wasn’t like he was being actively malicious or anything.

He was just trying to prevent the stubborn girl from bleeding out, as he confirmed with a quick glance at her side that the cut had indeed opened when she went and got out of the car by herself.

“You can put me down, Kurogane-san.” The princess pleaded, once she recovered her bearings.

“Your injury reopened. Try not to squirm so much.” He had to consciously stop himself from adding _idiot_ to the end of that. The princess was a nice person, and shouldn’t get the brunt of his anger at the mage.

She looked down at herself, seemingly not having realized she was bleeding until he pointed it out. Kurogane noted that she must have a good pain tolerance. She sighed but luckily did not attempt to fight him further.

“Thank you, then.” She told him earnestly, with a sweet smile that would have the kid reduced to a red puddle of a boy.

He just grunted in acknowledgment, managing a tiny smile for her and immediately looking away at the way she beamed at him for it.

The mage, who had up to this point been chatting with the old man, had clearly heard their exchange and was now throwing obviously worried glances at their direction.

“You should talk to him.” The princess whispered out of the blue, making his step falter. Her tone was light, but the words rang ominously in his ears.

He managed to hum in response, his eyes fixed on the problem in question. _He had tried,_ a petulant part of his brain whined. There was no getting through the mage.

“Guys?” A familiar voice interrupted Kurogane’s inner complaining.

He felt Sakura shot up in his arms, and he could sense her relieved smile even if he was looking ahead. Hanging at the door of Aidan’s house and already greeting the mage was the kid, looking unharmed and as relieved as he felt. The white bun was jumping excitedly on his shoulders, and Kurogane felt a knot on his stomach undo itself at the sight of his group in one piece.

“You found some strays too, dear?” A woman said from behind her, going to greet Aidan. “I found this one wandering around the neighbour, lost like a dog with no tail.”

“Oh, ya know each other?” Aidan asked, looking between Syaoran and the group he had just brought home.

“Yes, he’s with us!” Fai answered easily, carefully leaving his placement in the “family” open.

He picked up the pace, figuring the princess would jump the distance herself otherwise. The kid’s face fell the moment he registered the girl’s condition, rushing to their side with a worried frown.

“What happened? Are you all right, princess? Were you hurt? Is that _blood_?” The kid was spewing questions at rapid succession, moving his arms franticly.

Kurogane rolled his eyes fondly as he watched the princess try (and fail) to interrupt his desperate spiel to assure him she was totally fine (like a liar). From behind the boy’s shoulders, he could see the mage trying to hide a small, fond smile of his own.

“Alright, stop it.” Kurogane commanded, trying to brush off the fondness that was cascading through his senses. “We were pursued, she was shot, but it’s nothing serious.”

This, unsurprisingly, did not calm the kid down. Quite the contrary, he was looking rather pale. Ah.

“Oh heavens, does it hurt? Can you walk on your own? Can I carry you?” Kurogane was seriously wondering if the kid would pass out of lack of air, by the way he was talking non-stop.

He wordlessly handed her over to him, who supported her weight with all the ease his face _wasn’t_ showing. The princess' face was red as well; they were alike in that regard. She laid her cheek against his chest and he pressed her closer to him. It was rather adorable, how they fit together like a puzzle, if only one with several pieces missing.

“Kurogane-san said the injury reopened,” Sakura informed the kid as Aidan ushered them all inside. “Sorry, I always end up dead weight no matter how hard I try.”

Kurogane frowned. _Oh, none of that_.

“She did well.” He commented nonchalantly as Syaoran and the old woman lowered her to a sofa. “Saved my life.”

“Truly?” The kid wondered, looking equal parts impressed, worried, and proud.

Sakura blushed even harder, flashing a ridiculously sweet smile in his direction. The fondness was threatening to swallow him whole, so he had to look away after twisting his lips upwards for her.

The old woman introduced herself as May, and she was, as he had suspected, Aidan’s wife. She was a nurse, which was surprisingly lucky for them (although considering _who_ was injured this time, maybe not so surprisingly).

The house wasn’t big, just an old, cozy farmhouse that smelt of cut grass, cows, and hens. They all gathered in the kitchen, connected to the backyard and to a small chicken coop where an overly excited Mokona was now pestering a few hens.

The couple didn’t enquire about how the kid played into their little family ruse, seemingly reaching the natural conclusion of anyone who sees the kids interact for any period of time. There was no mistaking the adoring glint in Syaoran’s eyes, nor the way the princess’ face seemed to follow him like a sunflower does the sun.

The more he noticed those things, the more bitter it made him. He looked down from the scene, noticing a few chicken feathers that, rather ominously, had been blown away from the coop to his feet.

It wasn’t until later that night that the lie started to catch up to them. The couple graciously invited them to stay, and rather kindly, they offered the guest room for Kurogane and Fai to share.

He was about to argue that he didn’t _need_ a bed, and besides the princess was the one who was injured, when the mage actually beat him to it.

“Wouldn’t it be better if the kids took the room? Sakura-chan is hurt after all.” His eyes were closed and his smile and stance were carefully relaxed.

Kurogane’s brows furrowed. The idiot usually didn’t miss a chance to share a room with him and annoy him to no end. Which only seemed to confirm that the tension between them was at an all-time high.

“Oh dear, I took that into consideration already.” May answered. “The mattress in the guest room has seen better days, and the couch would probably be more comfortable for your girl.”

“Besides, It would give you some time alone!” She added, giving them a conspiratory wink that felt a lot like adding the arrow to a pulled-back longbow. “That boy looks very honest. He’ll watch over your girl no doubt.”

Well, there was no arguing with that. Sharing the guest room it was.

If he was being honest, he didn’t mind sharing the room with the mage anymore. Their half a year in Yama had done a lot to normalize the other man’s presence in close quarters, and how to deal with that. The mage, however, seemed to have reverted to a previously unknown reserved state, which was pissing him off. 

“Alright!” The idiot said, his façade cracking enough for it to sound unsure.

He made a show of stretching his back and yawning; claiming he was done for the day and that he was going to hit the bed early. The old couple soon followed, not before going over to the kids to tell them something. Kurogane stayed in the kitchen, looking over and trying to clear his head of blonde hair and fake words.

A hand to his back did not _startle_ him, he was too self-aware for that, but it did take him a bit by surprise. He barely even flinched.

“Sorry, Kurogane-san.” Syaoran said, looking pointedly unapologetic with a totally unwarranted-for smirk.

“May left these blankets for you two.” The kid continued, after it was made clear that Kurogane wasn’t going to dignify the beginning of their interaction with a response. He then extended a pair of white blankets he was holding in his hands.

Kurogane took them and mumbled his thanks. The kid turned around as if to leave, but hesitated.

“Excuse me for my boldness, but it is unlike you to shy away from things.” Syaoran said, not looking at him but with his voice firm nonetheless.

Every time Kurogane thought he had learned not to underestimate the brats, he was proven wrong yet again. Of _course_ they had picked up the frankly weird, tense mood between the two adults.

“Getting a bit tired of being the only one doing so.” He mumbled a _tad_ pettily, he could admit.

The kid actually chuckled at that. He turned around, and Kurogane was surprised to find a rather solemn smile on his face. His brown eyes had a somber weight to their glance, even if he looked otherwise quite at ease.

“Are you, really?”

 _That_ was a good question Kurogane wasn’t sure of how to answer. He couldn’t help but feel proud that Syaoran had chosen to ask it. If he was being honest, for all he called out the mage for his lack of commitment, Kurogane had never actually tried to tackle the issue head-on either.

The reasons why paraded in his mind in an old tune that he had more and more trouble listening to. He knew Fai was a terribly risky bet. There was the mage’s obvious reservations, the way he seemed to actively shut him off. A lot more pressingly, there was a real possibility that at the end of the day, the man would not be trustworthy.

However, there was another, increasingly louder voice in his mind reminding him that risk had never stopped him before. Well, he supposed this was new territory: he had never been in love before.

He paused. _Love, huh_.

Yeah, he supposed so.

“You may have a point.” He said, deciding to turn his glance away from the kid for it.

Even with his eyes turned away, he could hear the kid deflating at the lack of hostility in his answer. He fought the smile threatening to take over his lips at the kid’s obvious burst of courage.

“I think it may be worth a try.” Syaoran said encouragingly, before his good eye inevitably shifted back to the couch behind him, glinting even in the dark room.

Kurogane felt a throw in his stomach. He was rather selfish, talking about this with him. He ought to remember he is not the only one at a crossroad; and that he at least had a chance to get out of it.

He moved from the window, pausing to ruffle the kid’s hair. _You really deserve to win this_. Kurogane was not even sure of what “this” was, but gods, he would make sure of it. His own conviction was starting to worry him, as he could not help but thinking of home, almost in a reproaching manner.

 _Sorry, princess._ He thought, as the kid let out a soft yelp of surprise. _I think I may be needed more here._

“Good night.” He said, squeezing the kid’s shoulder, hoping to convey some of the things he couldn’t quite put into words.

The kid smiled brightly, and Kurogane found himself feeling more confident in… whatever he was about to do next.

He made his way to the guest room. The room was small, a tiny window reflecting the moon’s light over the only piece of furniture in the room, a wooden twin bed with an old mattress. Even in the darkness of the room, he could still make out the mage’s figure on the bed. He was lying face down on the mattress, and for the unnatural stillness of his limbs, Kurogane could tell he was wide-awake.

“I brought blankets.” He told him, wondering whether the mage would keep up the charade of sleeping or not.

Judging by the show the mage made out of pretending to stretch and yawn, the answer was no. He sat cross-legged on the bed, sizing him up with sharp eyes for a second before closing them and widening his grin.

“How nice! Is Kuro-po going to sleep too?” He asked easily, throwing himself backwards, his hands supporting his head. Kurogane sat down on the end of the bed, facing the mage.

“You have been avoiding me.” Kurogane stated, deciding to cut right to the chase.

“Yikes. Ever head of small talk?” The mage joked, sitting up straight again.

The carefree façade was still up, and blonde locks obscured the mage’s eyes. Nevertheless, the tone was less saccharine than his previous statement, and he didn’t try to outright deny or ignore his claim. All in all, Kurogane was marking it as a good head start.

“This has to do with Yama.” It wasn’t a question. Kurogane did not feel like risking them.

Fai chuckled, albeit in a drier fashion than he usually allowed himself to.

“You do have a very self-centred view of things, don’t ya Kuro-rin?”

The mage punctuated his sentence by hovering closer, eyes suddenly visible through both the dimly lit room and the owner’s attempt to mask them. In the idiot’s terms, this whole back and forth was as welcome as he was going to get.

“So it comes from something else.” Kurogane retorted, trying to catch his gaze for more than a few seconds.

“Clearly you’re the one with all the theories here.” He was looking at him fully now, seizing him up with half-lidded eyes.

The mage’s posture had gotten tenser as their conversation went on. He was doing a good job of pretending like it hadn’t, but Kurogane could tell anyway. Looked like a spooked cat, ready to bolt at the first sight of trouble.

“Very on brand for you to leave the heavy lifting to someone else.” He could speak in riddles too. Somebody ought to remind the mage he didn’t have the sole rights on everything evasive.

“It’s better this way.” Finally, the controlled ease was out of his tone. His smile shifted to a more subdued form.

Kurogane could feel the tension building in the man in front of him. Whatever he said next was sure to do or kill the whole interaction. He sighed, deciding to risk a question after all.

“Doesn’t seem to be working all that well, does it?” He arched an eyebrow, staring right into surprised eyes.

Unexpectedly, the mage held his gaze for longer this time. It seemed as though he had lost control of his mask for a minute. His smile _fell_ , accompanied by an almost silent gasp. Said sound must have been involuntary, because it was the catalyst for him to regain control of the situation.

Fai cut out eye contact abruptly, choosing instead to look at his hands. A smirk made his way back to his face, reminiscent of the one he had wielded back in the country of Yara.

“Maybe not.” He murmured, turning his voice back to a controlled tone. He got up from the bed, not as if he was ready to bolt yet, but in a way to stop the conversation.

Well, Kurogane was not done yet. He reached out, grabbing the mage by his wrist. Curiously, he seemed to lean into his touch before tensing up again.

“What are you so afraid of?” He said, trying to search for blue eyes from his position and the dark of the room. _Let me in, moron_.

Fai chuckled, low and mirthless. He made no move to free his hand.

“I think you could afford to be more afraid sometimes, Kuro.” He mentioned easily, pointedly not looking at him.

“Let us help then.” Kurogane argued, squeezing his wrist harder almost without meaning to. He didn’t quite like the edge of desperation his voice was taking on.

Well, that earned him a frown. The air seemed to stop around them.

“Don’t bring them into this.” The mage threatened, looking back to the living room.

“A bit late for that. For any of us.” Kurogane stated. From under his palm, he could feel the tension slowly lifting from the other man’s body.

“Maybe so.” The mage conceded, his cheery tone tinted heavily with dread.

“I think _you_ could afford to face the present once in a while.” Kurogane said, almost immediately realizing he did so with too much honesty.

Kurogane had not lowered his guard; he was not that much of an optimist. However, he was also not blind and whatever past shit had the mage roped up to the neck, he clearly disagreed with it now.

The mage turned to face him properly, their arms still intertwined. He was smiling, that much he expected, but there was a rawness to this one that made Kurogane pause. Blue eyes were staring right back at him, intense in an almost shy way.

“Once in a while, huh?” He said, chuckling voicelessly.

He moved his hand, hesitating for a few seconds once their fingers grasped one another. The moment felt somehow both endless and inexistent as Fai withdrew his hand.

“I’m going to check on Sakura-chan. I’ll join you in a minute.” The mage said as he turned back around, mistruth coming back to his tongue with ease. He wasn’t coming back to the room.

Kurogane sighed, not knowing what he expected. As he made himself comfortable in the bed to try and sleep that mess off, the mage spoke again from the opened door.

“I don’t know whether that would be possible, really.” There was a somber finality to his words, which did not align with the unsureness of his voice and stance.

Kurogane arched an eyebrow. _Huh_.

“That’s just because you decide the outcome before starting, as always.”

Even with his back to Kurogane, he could still make out the shake of a laugh from his position on the bed.

“Always so blunt, Kuro-rin.” The mage chastised in a sing-song voice. And then, “Sleep well, I’ll be joining you soon.”

As he left the room, leaving the door open, Kurogane couldn’t’ help a small smirk. That, somehow, hadn’t sounded like a lie this time.


	6. Trying to Pass Trough An Ajar Door (After)

Infinity was a goddamned headache waiting to happen, Kurogane thought grimly. Far too many blinding lights and sharp edges for an otherwise dark aesthetic. Everything felt too much, too sharp and coarse.

The streets were deserted, and their group had only the blinding white glow of the nearby lampposts and the odd, malfunctioning neon sign as a guide. He might have said that they stood out like a sore thumb, but with the group as it is right now, Kurogane thought they fit right in with the rest of the dark corners and gritty streets.

They had found the feather as the price of a mafia-led "chess" contest. It would almost remind him of Piffle, but the comparison felt almost sinful. They had all enrolled to participate, the princess as well, and were now searching for a place to stay.

They had been lucky. The kid hadn’t been here yet. It left a bad taste in his mouth, still thinking of him as _the kid_. ( _The kid_ wouldn’t have done _that_ , the part of his heart that hadn’t stopped pumping franticly since the reservoir reminded)

A few meters ahead of him walked the princess, the mage acting as his support for a leg that was suspiciously not getting any better as the weeks passed. Both of them had barely spoken to him, the first discreetly and the latter with loud deliberation.

The white bun was perched on Kurogane’s shoulder, eerily silent. She had been a lot more reserved since Tokyo, and Kurogane was pretty sure it was _her_ change in demeanour that would end up driving him over the edge. If even the bun wasn’t being annoyingly cheery and optimistic anymore, they were truly fucked, weren’t they.

Kurogane resisted the impulse to sigh, feeling oddly put out for missing even the most annoying of his companions’ traits. It felt as if they were all different people since the shitshow happened.

_Well_ , he thought grimly, feeling the fifth member of their group walking quietly behind him, _some of them were._

It wasn’t really the kid’s fault –it also felt odd, _wrong_ to call _him_ the kid (it felt as if he didn’t exist anymore, even if there were more of him than before)– Kurogane knew he was as much of a pawn of the bastard of the red symbol as much as the rest of them. It was hard, however, to look at him without seeing his mother’s killer mark on his chest or the unnatural touch of blue in a face identical to his.

He was trying, however, to ignore the painful phantoms and include him. The boy – he supposed that would have to do for now – hadn’t done anything wrong, or at least he didn’t look like he did so on purpose. Besides, the princess could barely look at him, and the mage was another story on his own. Boy could use a break of yet unearned hostility.

They eventually found the hotel the contest organizers had sent them to. The woman on the reception, a bored-looking girl dressed in a matching black top and skirt, barely reacted to their arrival.

“Sakura-chan’s tired. Can you deal with our accommodations?” The mage said over his shoulder as he guided the princess to a nearby leather couch.

His words, as all of those that were directed at him lately, felt as if they carried ice shards across the room. Kurogane wondered if it was just his own perception, or more of that ever-mysterious magic of his in action.

“Hello, we were told a suite had been reserved for us?” The boy spoke, apparently having beaten him to the counter.

Kurogane turned around to look at him, mostly because it was still a bit jarring to hear him speak while out of his line of vision. He kept expecting to find the kid every time he spoke. Well, not that looking at him was any more helpful, but there was a subtle difference in their stances, in their auras that helped Kurogane remember that they may be the same core of a person, but they were still _different_. 

“Yeah, gonna need an adult for that, kid.” The girl answered, looking at the boy a bit sneeringly over the counter.

The pleasant façade on his face cracked for a moment, before turning to Kurogane in a silent, apologetic plea. Kurogane took over wordlessly, for once not wanting to argue with anyone.

“What he said.” He told the girl brusquely. Fine, maybe he _was_ feeling a bit confrontational.

If the woman minded, she didn’t show it. She did something in that machine he had seen in worlds like Piffle (compiutar? Or something like it) until eventually she found whatever she was looking for in the thing’s shiny screen.

“Yes, here you are.” The girl said in a monotone, still looking at the machine. She spared a quick glance to the boy and then to the couch where the other two were. “Children under 16 need to be accompanied by a legal guardian. Are either of you the parent?”

Kurogane felt like he had just swallowed sand. From the corner of his eye, he saw the boy cringe as well. This type of misunderstanding had been already awkward _before_ everything had gone to shit. Now, it just felt like rubbing salt to a bleeding wound. He glanced towards the couch, seeing the mage with his back to him seemingly talking to the princess. However, he could see from the tension in his stance that he was listening to his conversation with the receptionist.

A wave of spite flooded over him (it was better to call it that, he was done with being _hurt_ ). The mage seemed under the impression he was the only one capable of being unreasonable and petty. Well, he was wrong.

“Yes. Both.” He ran with the answer before common sense could catch up to him.

He heard the boy gulp and he immediately felt bad for bringing the kids into this messy back-and-forth. Some of that guilt was subdued, however, when he turned to the mage once the girl was back to typing.

He still hadn’t turned, but he could see the tense tremble of his stance. Kurogane could feel the waves of anger flowing his way. _Good_ , an extremely bitter part of him thought. Sensing trouble in the air, the white bun jumped from his shoulder to the boy’s, only muttering a quick “Bye!” as a warning.

Once the girl gave him the keys, he started making his way to the stairs when he noticed something off with the mage. Besides the fact that he was avoiding looking at him, he looked even paler than normal, and a crown of sweat was forming on his forehead.

Kurogane sighed. Idiot needed blood. Probably had for a while now. This was going to take a while.

Already cursing his next couple of hours, he strode to where the mage was now helping the princess to his feet and moved him aside, replacing his pale arm with his. Idiot almost _snarled_ at him. The princess startled, but otherwise remained silent.

“You’re weakened again.” It wasn’t a question.

He found himself in a short stare contest against a lone yellow eye. With a bitter, almost silent “tsk”, the mage averted his eye first.

“I’ll be in the room.” He said, snatching the keys from Kurogane’s hand. “Help Sakura up.”

“I’ll meet you there.” He told to his rushing form up the stairs. For the way he hurried up after it, he understood what he meant by it.

Looking around, Kurogane noticed the boy had banished with Mokona sometime around their terse exchange. He couldn’t blame him for it, and at least he spared the bun from seeing more of _that_.

Turning his attention to the princess, he offered his arm to her. She took it, giving him a small smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Most of them didn’t as of late.

“How’s your leg?” He asked as he helped her through the stairs. It still took her considerable effort to climb them.

“It’s fine. Getting better.” She told him, smiling softly with her eyes closed.

Kurogane bravely resisted the impulse to scoff. Someone was picking lying skills from a certain blonde. He debated whether to tell her to maybe choose better liars to emulate but decided against it. He was already on thin ice with one member of the group tonight, no need to make that two.

As they made their way to the suite, the princess kept glancing not-so-subtly at him with a doubtful expression on her face. Kurogane was simply not in the mood for more glances.

“What is it?” He asked her, as they were close to the door.

The princess stopped for a minute, caught off guard. She looked down, eyes downcast as she bit her lip in thought. Whatever she was mumbling over, she resolved it quickly.

“Just…nevermind.” It was all she said before trying to move again.

Kurogane stayed in place, looking at her with an eyebrow raised. The princess cringed and looked away, but otherwise remained stubbornly silent. Kurogane sighed, _so be it_.

They entered the apartment without saying anything else. Inside they found the boy sitting on the couch, laughing softly at something the bun was animatedly acting out. A pained shadow fell upon the princess's eyes as she saw the sight.

She tried to make haste, maybe so the ki – _boy_ wouldn’t notice her. She put too much weight on her leg, and had to balance herself against the wall. The ordeal caused her to hiss in pain and that, of course, brought the boy’s attention to her.

His face fell into a concerned frown. The white bun jumped towards her, fussing over her while perched on the princess’ shoulder.

“Princess!” He exclaimed, rushing toward her, “Are you…”

Something on her face made him stop awkwardly, his hand inches away from her arm. She smiled at him, one of her mage smiles, and signalled with her free hand for him to stay where he was.

“Don’t worry about it, Syaoran-kun.” She said, keeping her tone even. And then, addressing all three of them. “I’m a bit tired. I’m going to lie down. Call me if something happens, alright?”

She gently lifted the bun from her shoulder, placing her on Kurogane’s hand. The white bun looked sad, but to her credit she did not argue. The boy nodded, faking a smile until the princess turned to the corridor, dropping it after he was sure she couldn’t see him.

The silence that ensued was long and suffocating. Kurogane was so _tired_.

“She doesn’t hate you, you know.” Kurogane felt the need to add after they heard the princess’ door closing.

He was sure of it. If he understood anything of the princess, it was that she was not the type of person to treat others poorly on purpose. Most of her and the boy’s tension seemed to steer from her efforts to shield him from her adverse reaction to him.

“I know.” The kid looked resigned, but there was a firm resolution in his voice. “I’ll…see if I can find more about this world.”

Kurogane would have argued that it was late and to leave it for the next morning if he didn’t know that it was just an excuse to get away from them for a while. Again, he couldn’t blame him.

As the boy left, the white bun left him to go sit on the sofa. Her lips were trembling a bit, and her ears were down at either side of her as she sat facing down the floor. Against the expanse of tight grey leather of the couch, the bun looked ridiculously small.

The image was…extremely depressing.

Kurogane took a deep breath, eyeing the fancy-looking kitchen with a plan in mind.

“Hey, I don’t suppose _you_ know how that thing works, hm?” He asked her, pointing at what he was pretty sure was one of those modern ovens he had seen in similar worlds. This one looked like it had electricity.

Mokona perked up almost immediately, making a beeline to his shoulder and speaking animatedly the whole time:

“That’s an _oven_ , Yuuko-san has one of those! Do not worry, Mokona will sure help Kuro-pi with it!” She explained, puffing herself proudly.

The change in mood made something in his chest feel lighter, and that was enough for him not to cringe at the now-rare nickname. Kurogane decided that the mage could wait until he fixed himself a snack to get his own energy (and blood) back.

Besides, the bun could use some distraction.

Once he put some relatively recognizable ingredients in a broth to make soup and left the manjuu to look after it, Kurogane knew it was time to square up and go to the mage.

All the walls in the apartment seemed to be the same pale white color that contrasted with the otherwise dark furniture and decoration. In these particular circumstances, the aesthetic of the place was worsening an ever-present headache. 

There were three bedrooms, all distributed in the suite’s tiny hall. The k –boy and the princess’ rooms were facing each other, while the one he was probably sharing with the mage (even though he was sure they would not be using it at the same time any time soon) was at the end of the hallway in between the other two.

The hall felt a lot longer than it actually was, the white door looming closer and closer with each step. It felt foreboding, almost. Like the world’s own architecture was enjoying his torment. _Hituzen_ , he thought, and couldn’t help but roll his eyes at his mind’s dark humour. Damn fate. No one it ever touched seemed to walk off well.

He thought on nocking, but found the notion to be ridiculous at this point. Before he could turn the door handle, the door opened to reveal the mage, appraising him with a neutral expression. Kurogane could see the exhaustion wrinkles on his forehead and the somewhat shaky way he held himself upright. Idiot was starving. Kurogane would bet he had _smelled_ him coming all the way to the kitchen.

“I’m fine.” The stubborn _bastard_ claimed, without even bothering to wait for him to state the obvious.

“Like hell you are.” Kurogane spat, trying to force his way into the room. The idiot blocked him with annoyingly high success. It was still weird, seeing the mage put effort into things.

“What’s your endgame? Starve yourself to death?” He argued, still caught in the childish tug-o-war with the door; the handles of which were already shaking under their combined strength.

“Why do you want me alive so badly?” Fai spat back, eye scanning his face a bit wildly.

“Why do you want yourself _dead_ so badly?” He echoed his words. Anger getting the best of him, his next words came out almost in a growl. “I told you, I can _fix that_ if you’re so desperate.”

The idiot breathed deeply, momentarily stopping with his struggle. A screw fell down from the door’s hinges and Kurogane belatedly thought he would probably have to fix _that_ as well. Taking advantage of his lowered guard, he elbowed his way into the room.

There was something about the lighting features in this world, jarring and dull at the same time and tinting the room a garish white. The whole room, which was nothing more than a twin bed and two bedsides with small potted plants that provided the only touch of colour. The left side was covered by a glass wall that showed the unforgiving dark buildings of Infinity in their entirety. 

Fai sat on the end of the bed, an air of anger and resignation around him. Kurogane walked up to him and pulled a knife he had picked up from the kitchen. The mage tried to quell a flinch at the motion. Kurogane gritted his teeth as he made a decently-sized cut in the top of his forearm, blood immediately flowing out of the wound.

He could see Fai salivating at the sight of it, but still he made no move. He grunted, his patience growing thinner by the second.

“You want to waste my blood now?” He complained, and that seemed to snap the mage out of whatever self-blaming crap he was stuck on now.

He could see guilt and anger both flashing in his eyes as he positioned himself under the cascading blood of his arm. It still took Kurogane aback, to see so much on display on his face. He had incredibly expressive features. The mage was doing his best to drink without touching him at all, stubborn as always.

The room was silent except for the gulping sounds of the mage feasting on his blood. Kurogane had to look away after a while, the sight of the mage on his knees doing sounds like that affecting more than he would like it to. Sometimes he wished he had more integrity than this.

“You haven’t answered my question.” He said, mostly because another fight was better than whatever _this_ was.

“You haven’t answered _mine_.” He shot back, quickly going back to his blood.

Kurogane rolled his eyes. As if the answer wasn’t obvious already. 

“Moron.”

The mage didn’t say anything else after that. After a few minutes, he got up, whipping the blood from his mouth with his sleeve. Little droplets of red covered a good part of his upper body, thanks to the position he was in relation to Kurogane’s bleeding arm.

“Are you really done?” He questioned, feeling that he was barely affected by the blood loss.

“Would you cover that already?” The mage urged; annoyance and worry clouding his voice.

He ignored him. “You know, the less you drink each time, the more times you will have to drink overall.”

Fai laughed, shrill and frantic, as he reached for a cloth that was lying on one of the bedside tables.

“What do you suggest; I leave you staggering on your feet?” The mage joked without humour as he wrapped the cloth around his arm, despite Kurogane’s dull protests.

Kurogane couldn’t stop the chill that shocked his body as Fai touched him. He had been avoiding him for a while now, and he _hated_ how vulnerable that left him to his proximity.

“If you don’t drink enough then _you_ will be the one staggering on your feet.”

“Then this is a lose-lose situation. Wonderful.”

Kurogane’s headache was getting worse by the minute, the lighting of the room feeling too bright on his pupils. The mage’s words did nothing but poke more holes into an already weakened brain.

“Oh for heaven’s sake, why are you so caught –“

“I’M caught up?” Fai exploded before he could finish his sentence, surprising even himself judging by the way he staggered back, eye wide. “Have you considered for a second you’re way too caught up in the _present_?”

He stopped for a moment, and the air in the room seemed to freeze still with them.

He got right in his face, his expression shaped into sad fury. “I have news for you, the future is barrelling down towards us, and I know it isn’t pretty.”

He strode to the door, and Kurogane didn’t try to stop him.

“Go eat something, get your blood pumping.” He said as he opened the door. “I’ll be back.”

The door closed behind him with a loud bang. Funny, Kurogane thought without humour as he fought the annoying ache in his chest, how Fai’s lying tone didn’t really change even when his whole demeanour did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Wasn't this a comedy?" Certainly, but I can't help myself. We're back to scheduled fun for the next one tho.


End file.
